Day 1...or is it 2?

Merhaba!

Greetings from Turkey! We arrived safe and sound after about 14 hours of travel. We got into Istanbul about 10:30 on Friday morning. Since the airport is on the European side of Istanbul, we got to ride a sea bus across the Bosphorus to get to the Asia side. I think it took us about 2 hours to get to our flat in Istanbul... first we took a bus, then the sea bus, then a train, and then we had to walk a few blocks... phew! This is a big city!! We got kinda settled in, and then took a nap for a few hours. We had a team member meet us here again to take us to another team member's house for dinner. They surprised us by also giving Ty a birthday cake! We had really yummy Thai chicken and rice for dinner...yummm. After walking and taking the train and walking again it took about an hour to get back to our flat. We all went right to bed! The boys slept in pretty late this morning; Dev didn't wake up till 10:00! Jon had to be out the door pretty early to go to band rehearsal, and the boys and I had a pretty lazy morning. We watched a little BBC on TV... the only English channel! After lunch, another team member came and took the boys and I around our neighborhood to show us the grocery store and stuff like that. We also did a little grocery shopping for us... quite an experience since all the food looked strange to me! But, I managed to find stuff to make spaghetti, or at least something like it! This afternoon Ty, Dev and I also went for a walk down by the Sea of Marmara. I think that is where it hit me, "wow, I am actually in Turkey!". Since it was Ty's birthday we let him pick where we were eating dinner tonight. He picked a local outdoor cafe. The whole time we were walking there, he kept saying, "finally real Turkish food!", and then he ordered a cheeseburger! Go figure. He did order Ayran to drink, which is Turkish... kind of a salty yogurt drink. He said he liked it and did drink quite a bit of it. Devon ordered it also, and after his first drink said,"not a big fan of this Ayran stuff!". He also ordered a hamburger. Jon and I went a little more Turkish with chicken kebabs and rice. It was very good! We also tried the Ayran, and I think we agree with Devon. We will see if Ty actually orders it again! Well, it is almost midnight here, and I am tired. Tomorrow we are having a lazy morning and then spending the afternoon with friends. I think we get roommates as well. Hopefully they will like living with 2 not so quiet boys! Keep checking back, I am hoping to post regularly!

Ty turns the big 1-0

Well, I am blogging this now, because I won't be able to do it on his birthday. Ty is turning double digits! I can't believe he has been in our family for 10 years already! God has blessed us with such an amazing young man. He is kind, sensitive, funny, smart, and always willing to help others. He is a wonderful son, and I am excited to watch him grow and become a man. My prayer is that he lives a life running after God's heart. To find the passions that God has placed in him and use them to glorify God and expand the Kingdom. I was watching a video of him the other night and it made me cry! He was 3 years old and singing "Be Still And Know That I Am God"...I will try and post it on here as well. Ty has been growing his hair out and it was past his shoulders, tonight he decided to cut it all off for our Turkey trip. So I am posting before and after pics as well!





Happy Birthday Ty! We all love you tons!

Devon gets dunked!

Ever since last summer's church picnic, Devon has been asking to be baptized. Today was finally the day (our church usually does a big group of baptisms once a year). It was so special to watch Jon baptize our youngest son and, yes, I did cry. Our prayer for Devon is that as he grows into the man God wants him to be, he will live out his youth with a desire to know God more, and with the love, freedom, peace, and purpose that only God can give. We love you, Dev!

Sad News

I just got news today that my Uncle Jim died unexpectedly last night. I guess he is actually my great uncle. He is my dad's uncle. I have tons of memories of him from my childhood. He and his wife (my grandma's youngest sister) Wilma have a ranch in Delhi, CA, and we used to go visit there quite a bit. There were grape orchards (is it an orchard of grapes?), walnut groves, and a river to play in. He always took us to the river to go fishing, and funny enough he always saw the big fish with our name on it just the day before! When I was really little he smoked cigars (it might have been a pipe, I don't really remember now), but I always like how the smoke smelled. He had a great laugh, and was always fun to be around. I will be unable to fly back to California for his funeral, which makes me a bit sad, but I hope I will be able to see him again someday! Uncle Jim, you will be missed!
Jon just told me that it is a grape vineyard (duh, don't know why I didn't remember that), and that it might be walnut orchards not groves. Anyone know?

Warm Evenings

I love this time of the year. The days are in the mid 80's, but not too humid yet, and the evenings are just perfect for sitting out on the back porch with an ice-cream cone! These kind of evenings always bring to my mind images of Southerners sitting on the porch swing with a nice cold Lemonade or Mint Julep (one of these days, I will have to try one of those!). We also pulled out the tent tonight for the boys to "camp out". We figured since this is the first time they have slept outside by themselves, we would start out with the tent on the deck...easy access to the house if needed! They were pretty excited, and I think they will stay out there all night!




If all ya'll want to stop by for a cup of sweet tea just give us a call! Actually, you won't find sweet tea at my house, but I will find you something cold to drink! And don't forget your bug spray!

SUMMER!

Today was the last day of school for the boys! I think I am more excited about this then they are! Ty and Devon really enjoy school and both the boys are in the gifted learners program. Devon finished the year with straight A's and (for the first time since he has started school)Ty finished the year with 2 B's and 4 A's. Ty found 4th grade to be a bit of a challenge, and a lot was expected of him this year. We are so proud of both the boys and what they have accomplished this school year. Ty had a bit of a special treat happen. He made the Millionaires Club at school this year. This is a program for the 4th and 5th graders to challenge them to read more. He read over a million words this school year, and this was just in the books he read at school, I didn't even bother to keep track of the MANY books he read while at home! Both boys have turned into avid readers! I love it! Anyway, for reaching this goal he got to ride in a limo to Chick-fil-a for lunch and Sonic for ice-cream! What a treat! He was so excited! There were only 2 4th graders who made this goal and only 7 students total. Here are some pictures of his limo ride!


I have finished working at OM for now, I will start again in August when school starts back up. I feel so blessed to be working with an organization who is allowing me to take this time off to be with my kids. They grow so fast, and I really don't want to miss out on my time with them now! We are looking forward to hot days, swimming, summer reading program at the library, a visit from my sister, nephew and parents, a month in Turkey, and a trip to Florida, and hopefully catching up on my scrap booking...phew, busy summer! If you are in the area, give us a call and we will fit you in! We would love more visitors!


The boys and their AWESOME teachers!

New Arrivals and more

Here are some cute new arrivals we have on our front porch! It has been fun watching them from the living room window! They are so sweet when the mommy bird comes and they all open their mouths really wide! I hope we get to see them fly away!
Life here in Georgia has been good. We are busy with the last few days of school and excited about a visit from my parents, sister and nephew next month! We are also preparing for a month in Turkey! We are so excited to have the opportunity to travel to Turkey with Jon this time! Jon will be co-leading a tour with a band that is over there. God has provided in some amazing ways for this to happen!I am hoping to post a few times while we are there, but I guess we will just have to wait and see how it goes.
The boys only have a little over a week left of school, and I only have a few days left of work (I am taking the summer off, and will go back to work at OM in August). We always love summer! Here are some more of my new favorite pictures...enjoy!


my awesome husband!



our cute dog!

Awesome song

Just a quick post...Here is a song and video that I just can't get enough of!

Spring is on the way!

The first signs of spring have started to pop up! I noticed these daffodils blooming in my front yard, and others are starting to push up out of the ground in the backyard! After 2 long cold months, I am ready for warmer weather! Everything around here is really brown and dead in the winter, so this sudden burst of color is wonderful! On Wednesday we will be on our way to Oregon to visit churches, family, and supporters. We have also been blessed with a quick trip to California. I will be able to see my brothers, sister, and Grandma again after 14 months! Needless to say, I am very excited! Anyway, I just wanted to share this first picture of spring with you...enjoy!

SNOW IN GEORGIA!

Unbelievable...we have had snow 2 days this week! Today, things are covered in snow, and I have heard we should have about 4 inches by tomorrow morning! Ty and Devon (Jon and I too!) have had a great time playing outside! One of the funny things we have noticed, is that southerners don't really know what to do when it snows. The first thing everyone does is run to the store to buy bread and milk. We are not sure why that is but I guess they are afraid of being snowed in for a while. Crazy. Luckily, we have enough bread and milk already, so I did not have to make a mad dash for the store! Here are some pictures...enjoy!

Happy Elfin' Holidays... hmm...

Funny... and yet scary in a way...

Click here (don't worry; it's safe)

NASCAR

Okay, I think this is something everyone should experience at least once in their lives! I took the boys to the Atlanta Motor Speedway today to see the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. They also got to see the NASCAR guys practice for tomorrows race! The boys were both very excited to be there! We were able to get tickets for $8 each through the Scouts. Here is what I thought of it...it's very loud! You can't even talk to the person next to you. Thank God we brought ear plugs with us! We stayed for about 4 hours and then walked around the vendors and stuff before we came home. The race track is only about 20 minutes from our house. Jon missed it because he is in New Jersey doing concerts this weekend. I am sure we will go again, because the Scouts do this twice a year...lucky us! It was worth it to see how excited the boys were...Ty almost hyperventilated when he saw Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon drive by! Our seats were pretty good. We were in the Petty Stands right on the 4th turn (I sound like I know what I am talking about, right!) and in the front row. It wasn't so bad until the trucks actually came around the corner at 190+ mph and threw rubber from their tires all over us! Then we decided to move up about 10 rows! The weather was also perfect. Blue sky and about 70 degrees, where was a breeze as well, but I don't know if it was from the trucks or not. Another thing, we were in the family section, so no alcohol was allowed, which is good, because I heard the other sections can get pretty bad with people drinking. So, all in all it was fun and I would go again (maybe bring a book next time!). I felt like a real southerner...scary. Enjoy the pics! By the way, my boys are not completely southernized yet...they did not know what the "General Lee" was and were wondering why everyone was going crazy when it came out onto the racetrack!

Pumpkins, Leaves, and Cooler Weather...finally!

Last weekend we took the boys to get their pumpkins. It is always this event that makes me miss Half Moon Bay! We usually just go to a local church here that sets a pumpkin patch up on the front lawn. Its fine, but really just not the same as visiting Lemos Farm! I did hear there is a farm not far from here that does a pumpkin field, corn maze, pony rides and petting zoo, but it cost like $12.00 (per person) just to get in! Maybe that includes the cost of your pumpkin, but I doubt it! I love fall...it might be my favorite time of the year (I think I say that about the start of every season!). It has felt like summer here since May, so we are ready for a change! The leaves are starting to change gorgeous shades of red, orange and yellow. You look out the window and thousands of leaves are just floating through the air...very pretty and relaxing! This week our weather has finally gone from the upper 80's to a sudden drop to mid 60's. The sudden change does shock my system a bit...right now I am freezing! But, I love the crispness to the morning air! Great time to bundle up, sit on my front porch with a cup of coffee and read my Bible! I was reading again this morning about the persistent widow...and was reminded that is how we need to be with God. Always coming before him, not only with requests, but with our praise and love as well. Sometimes I find myself getting into the mindset of, "well, He's God, He knows what I need"...but I was reminded today to try to be in constant prayer throughout my day. Not always easy when there is a pile of laundry, and the boys have different places they need to be, and Jon is trying to pack for his tour this weekend...but I am going to try! Jon will be leaving tomorrow for New Jersey. He will be back Monday night. The boys and I are going to have an adventure on Saturday...we have tickets to go to the Atlanta Motor Speedway to see the Nextel Truck Races. Should be fun...for the boys! We were able to get tickets for $8 each, because it is Scout Day! Anyway, I will tell you about that next week! Gotta run, or I will be late for bible study!

Mississippi

On October 11th the 4 of us with a group from our church traveled down to Pass Christian, Mississippi to build a Katrina Relief House. Pass Christian is on the gulf coast and after Hurricane Katrina hit, 90% of the homes were destroyed and 100% of the businesses were destroyed. Now 2 years later only 10% of the town has been rebuilt. Our church had partnered with a group called Square Foot Ministry and OM to build this house. The lady that will be living in it, not only lost everything in the hurricane, but has also contracted West Nile Virus from mosquitoes and is now going blind. When we got down there, we checked into our accommodations...tent city. These are the National Guard tents that were put up for the people who were left homeless. There were all girl tents and all boy tents, so Jon got the boys! We got up Friday morning and were on our construction site by 7:30 am. Our church had built all the outside walls this summer on the church parking lot and they were trucked down to Mississippi. So, we got to the site which had a foundation and front porch only to find out our house plans had been changed. None of the outside walls were right anymore. We went ahead and put them up and then the "construction" guys on our crew (the ones who really knew what they were doing!) went through and pulled apart the doors and windows, and rebuilt everything to the new plans. By the end of the first day, the exterior walls were up, windows were in, the house was wrapped and the roof trusses were up. At one point during the day, Andrew (a guy from our church) took Ty and Devon over to the railroad tracks (which were about 50 feet in front of the house!) and showed them how to put coins on the tracks. When they heard the train coming, all three of them ran to watch and wait to see what happened. Ty and Devon were excited to find there flattened coins! The next day, they placed more coins, and then decided a ham sandwich, apple and mayo packet might be just as good. Boys. So, anyway, back to the house! The second work day we put the siding up on three sides (doing this, I learned how to use a nail gun!), finished the interior walls, put plywood on the roof (which Andrew took Ty and Devon up to help with at one point!)and papered it. A ton of work for 2 days time! I was impressed with Ty and Devon. For being the only 2 kids there and on a construction site for 2 days, they did no complaining! They were always looking for jobs to do. they pulled nails our of wood, cleaned up and always made sure everyone had something to drink! they were awesome! After dinner on Saturday night our church band did an outside worship service. There weren't many people there, but I did hear that we had a few people who came over from the bar across the street to see what was going on and decided to stay for the music! Cool. Jon even got to debut a new song of his! It was a great 4 days for our family. We learned more about construction, compassion and caring for people less fortunate then we are. I would encourage anyone to find a team or organization and help rebuild the gulf coast.

Pass Christian, Mississippi

The Simpson family (along with Crosspoint Community Church) is headed down to Pass Christian, Mississippi this week to help build a Katrina Relief House. Our church built all the outside walls of this house in our parking lot this summer, and now we are headed down to put it up! Pass Christian was 100% destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, and now 2 years later, still only 10% of the town has been rebuilt. I read today that only 3 buildings in the whole town were left standing after the hurricane. There is still so much work to be done to rebuild the devastated areas and not enough people volunteering to go do it! It seems like after 2 years people have forgotten what happened to these cities. The lady that we are building the house for lost everything, and then contacted West Nile Virus from the mosquitoes. She is now blind. Please pray for safe travels, and that we can be Jesus in our efforts to help rebuild this city. Our band from church (which Jon is involved in) will also be putting on a worship service on Saturday night, for the whole town. Please pray for open hearts and changed lives. I am sure not only will we be changing lives down there, our own lives will be changed by this experience! Thanks for praying for us!

Home Improvement!

Ever since I moved into this house 2 years ago, I have wanted to change the kitchen cabinet hardware. The hardware was dirty, and gold...very 80's, and I really hated it. The biggest problem was I could not find anything I really liked that was under $4.00 a piece (I need to replace 50 handles)! You do the math. It seemed like an insane amount of money for me to pay for handles. So, I decided to get creative. I bought a $4 can of black hammered spray paint and painted them! I am so thrilled with the result! Anyway, just wanted to share this inexpensive decorating idea with you!

Skate Park

Ty and Devon have both decided they are going to go pro in skateboarding. They just started riding about a month ago. Today, after school I took them over to our local skate park so they could test out their skills. I thought for sure we would end up in the emergency room with a broken bone! They decided they have a little more practicing to do before they go pro! Luckily there was no one else at the skate park, so they could fall all they wanted and not be in anyone else's way! There was also a BMX track. We only brought one bike with us, so the boys took turns. They had so much fun with the 2 parks! I don't know why we haven't gone here before! The weather was perfect for me to sit out and watch them...about 85 degrees with a slight breeze and no humidity! It doesn't quite feel like fall here yet, maybe in another month or so. Jon is in New Mexico this week. I think when he travels in the states is when I start to get homesick. I am not sure why. Other then today we have had a pretty boring week so far! There, just a quick update on what we are doing! Gotta run! Oh, by the way, please ignore the fact the Devon keeps saying y'all! Yikes!

Way too Long...

Ty's winning picture!

Okay, I know it has been way to long since I have updated this. It is funny, because I love to read other peoples blogs, but it is so hard to get mine updated! Lets see, I guess I will start with our summer. In June as most of you know Jon was in Turkey for 2 weeks. If you would like to read his tour journal go to the ministry section of our web page. The boys and I had a busy 2 weeks at home. We did swim lessons and VBS. The last week the boys had VBS at one church in the morning and then again at our church in the evening! We survived the long weeks without Daddy, and were glad to get him home again! After that we spent a weekend in Talladega, Alabama. Why you ask? Well we had a OM retreat. It was fun hanging out with people from OM and getting to know others better. This is something OM does every year. In July we spent a week on a vacation (just the 4 of us!). We drove up to Williamsburg, Virginia (about 8 or 9 hours). We spent 2 days exploring Colonial Williamsburg. It was loads of fun. This was my third time there, and I still loved it! We were there for the 4th of July. The firework show that night was incredible! Even Jon thought it was the best one he ever saw! From there we drove about another 2 hours to get to Washington DC. We spent another 2 days walking around visiting all the monuments and museums. It was fun showing it to the boys. They really enjoyed the Natural History Museum and the Air and Space Museum. We took 2 days to drive home. It was a great trip! We did miss getting to California this summer, but decided we really needed some time just the 4 of us and to explore the east coast while we are here! When we got home we had about a week to get ready for Jon's parents visit. They were here for 2 weeks. We had a great time with them. One of the weeks that they were here was a mission week for our church. We did lots of community work. Jon and his dad were able to work together, which I thought was great. As always, it was hard to say goodbye to them. It seems like such a long time in between visits with family.
The boys started school again the 2nd week of August. Ty is in 4th grade and Devon is in 2nd. They love school and were glad to get back. I was glad to get them back as well! :) They are both in Scouts again. This year Jon and I are leading the Wolf Den (Devon's group). Tomorrow night is our first meeting. Pray for us! Ty is also playing baseball for the fall. His first game is on Saturday. He has been practicing hard and is excited to play. There is a guy from our church named Kevin, who has been giving him batting lessons. I think it will really help Ty! Ty also won 3rd prize for his age group in a photo contest at the Tyrone Founders Day. We are proud of both of our boys!

As for Jon and I, life is good! Jon is getting ready for a trip out to New Mexico to do Crowns. I am trying to get my Southern Living at HOME business really going. We are taking the boys to Mississippi next month with our church to build a Katrina Relief House. I will update you on that later (how it went). We are happy and God is so good! Thank you for your prayers for our family!
Family picture in the World War II memorial, Washington DC



Devon and Ty had fun playing lawn games in Colonial Williamsburg!

Take me out to the Ballgame!

You know it is spring when baseball starts! Ty and Devon are both playing America's favorite game this season. Opening day was this last Saturday. We left our house at 9:00 am and didn't return home again until 4:00 pm! We had opening day ceremonies with the teams parading around the fields, and then a former major league player spoke (Sorry, I don't remember his name!), and then we had the "National Anthem" and "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" sung and then a pastor came up and prayed over the players (have to say there are some advantages for living in the bible belt!). After all of that the boys got to do a climbing wall and then we ran over to Sonic for lunch. Ty's first game was at 12:00 and Devon's was at 1:30. So, this baseball field that Tyrone has is pretty cool...there are about 5 baseball diamonds for the games to be going on at the same time, but the only problem is it was 87 degrees outside and there is no shade anywhere to be found! Poor Jon had a baseball hat on and the top of his head still got a little burnt!

Ty is on a team of 7 and 8 year olds, and the team they were playing were like pros! They were hitting home runs and stealing bases! The players were kinda haggling our team as well...pretty bad attitudes. The other taam won. Actually they just called it a mercy game because our team was so far behind. Ty did hit the ball and almost got to first base!

Devon is on a team of 5 and 6 year olds. They try to hit the ball and after 3 strikes they get to hit it off the tee. Devon was pretty frustrated by the middle of the game because he said there was so many people yelling he couldn't hear what the coach was saying! Oh well, I guess he will get used to that. His team lost as well.

This week we have been having record breaking temps for this time of the year. It will be in the 80's all week. I love it! The only thing I don't love is the pollen. Apparently we had almost a record breaking pollen count today. It was something like 5.460 or something close to that! There is a blanket of yellow dust on everything outside! I have never had a allergy problem, but today I have been sneezing, runny eyes, sinus pressure, and a headache. I was told if I don't feel better by tomorrow to go get some Claritin. Someone else told me that most people who move to Georgia develope some kind of allergy to the pollen. Great. I tried to take a picture of the pollen on our deck so you can see how bad it really is! We are suppost to get rain later this week, so hopefully that will clear it out some!


Next week we are going to a lake house for part of spring break. I will write more about it when we get back!

Here are some more pics I thought you would enjoy...so enjoy!

Solomon getting big!

Ty and Devon enjoying a milkshake on the front porch!

Happy Spring!